Working at SY+ · Section 45
Termination of employment
Termination without notice
About this policy
Termination without notice
We may also terminate the appointment with immediate effect without notice and with no liability to make any further payments to you (other than in respect of amounts accrued due to at the date of termination) if the Employer is/has:
guilty of any Gross Misconduct affecting the Company’s business;
commit any serious or repeated breach or on-observance of any of the provisions of this agreement or refuse or neglect to comply with any of our reasonable and lawful directions;
are, in the reasonable opinion of the board, negligent and incompetent in the performance of your duties;
declaring or has declared bankruptcy or made any arrangement with or for the benefit of the Employee’s creditors or have had a county court administration made against the Employee under the County Court Act 1984 (CCA98);
convicted of any criminal offence (other than an offence under any road traffic legislation in the United Kingdom or elsewhere for which a fine or non-custodial penalty is imposed) [or any offence under any regulation or legislation relating to insider dealing];
In the opinion of a medical practitioner who is treating you physically or mentally incapable of performing the Employee’s duties and may remain so for more than three months and the medical practitioner has given a medical opinion to the Board to that effect;
ceased to be eligible to work in the United Kingdom;
guilty of any fraud or dishonesty or act in any manner which in our opinion brings or is likely to bring the Employee or the Employer into disrepute or is materially adverse to our interests;
in breach of the Company’s anti-corruption and bribery policy and related procedures;
in breach of the Employees obligations under the Company’s anti-facilitati of tax evasion;guilty of a serious breach of any rules issued by the Employer from time to time regarding the Company’s electronic communications systems;
been unable to by reason of incapacity to perform the Employee’s duties under this Contract
The Company’s rights are without prejudice to any other rights that the Company might have at law to terminate the appointment or to accept any breach of this agreement by the Employee as having brought the contract to an end. Any delay by the Employer in exercising the rights of the Company to terminate shall not constitute a waiver thereof.
Notice of Termination - If you wish to resign, you should do so in writing giving such notice as is specified in your Statement.
Gross Misconduct - You may be summarily dismissed (i.e. without notice) if there has been an act of gross misconduct. Examples are contained in the gross misconduct section of ‘Disciplinary Rules’ above.
Notice during Probationary Period - During a probationary period your notice period may be different, so you should refer to your Statement for this information.
When Dismissal Notice Takes Effect - If you are given notice of dismissal verbally, it is deemed to take effect immediately. If notice is sent via post, it is deemed to take effect according to the schedule below:
sent by email: the day after the email is sent;
sent by recorded/special delivery: two days after letter sent;
sent by first class: three days after the letter was sent.
Terminating Employment without giving Notice - If you terminate your employment without giving or working the required period of notice, as indicated in your individual Statement of Main Terms of Employment, you will have an amount equal to any additional cost of covering your duties during the notice period not worked deducted from any termination pay due to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment. You will also forfeit any contractual accrued holiday pay due to you over and above your statutory holiday pay, if you fail to give or work the required period of notice.
Return of our Property - On the termination of your employment you must return all our property which is in your possession or for which you have responsibility. Failure to return such items will result in the cost of the items being deducted from any monies outstanding to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment. Irretrievably delete any information relating to the Company’s business stored on any magnetic or optical disk or memory and all matter derived from such sources which is in the Employee’s possession or under their control outside the Company’s premises. Provide a signed statement that the Employee has complied fully with their obligations under this clause together with such reasonable evidence of compliance as we may request.
Return of Vehicles - On termination of your employment you must return any Company vehicle in your possession to our premises. Failure to return the vehicle will result in the cost of its recovery being deducted from any monies outstanding to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment.
Pay in Lieu of Notice - At the absolute discretion of the Company, payment in lieu of working notice may be made, and all benefits owing, including holidays paid as accrued at the actual date of termination. This is an express written term of your contract of employment.
Confidentiality and Definitions
Confidential Information” information in whatever form (including, without limitation, in written, oral, visual or electronic form or on any magnetic or optical disk or memory and wherever located)
relating to the business, clients, Customers, products, affairs, fees charged and finances of the Company and/or any Group Company for the time being confidential to the Company and/or any Group Company and trade secrets including, without limitation, technical data and know-how relating to the business of the Company and/or any Group Company or any of its suppliers, clients, customers, agents, distributors, shareholders or management, whether or not such information (if in anything other than oral form) is marked confidential.
“Customer” means any person, firm, company or organisation of the Company or any Group Company with whom you have dealt with in the period 12 months before the termination of your employment or whose Confidential Information you have had access to by reason of your employment.
“Prospective Customer” means any person, firm, company or organisation who has been in discussions with the Company and/or any Group Company for the purchase or supply of Relevant Goods and Services with whom the Employee have dealt with in the last 6 months before the termination of their employment or whose confidential information (to include the type of information set out above) they have had access to by reason of their employment by the Company and/or any Group Company.
“Restricted Person” anyone employed or engaged by the Company and/or any Group Company who could materially damage the interests of the Company and/or any Group Company if they were involved in any business concern which competes with the Company and/or any Group Company and with whom the Employee dealt in the 12 months prior to Termination in the course of his employment.
“Relevant Goods or Services” are goods or services which are the same as or of a similar kind or function to those which in the period of 6 months before the termination of your employment you have been concerned with in the course of your duties for the Company and/or any Group Company.
The Employee recognises that Confidential Information is important to the business of the Company and any Group Company and they acknowledge that the following restraints are necessary for the reasonable protection of the Company, any Group Company to which you have had access during your employment and/or of its or their business including any associated business, Customers, Prospective Customers, suppliers and their respective affairs.
The Employee shall not, whilst employed by the company or any time thereafter:
disclose or communicate to any person or permit or enable any person to acquire any Confidential Information;
Use or attempt to use any of the Confidential Information in any manner which may injure or cause loss either directly or indirectly to the company, and Group Company or its or their Customers or may be likely to do so.
The Employee shall, whilst employed by the Company or at any time thereafter use their best endeavours to prevent the unauthorised publication and/or disclosure of:
details of Customers, Prospective Customers, suppliers and contractors of the Company and/or any Group Company, including the terms of business with them, the fees and commission charged to or by them, the nature of the lease arrangements, goods and services supplied to them and their requirements for specific projects whether designs, idea, or information technology orientated;
copies of information relating to research activities, creative briefs, ideas, computer programmes, designs and specifications commissioned or produced by or on behalf of the Company and/or any Group Company;
details of an marketing, sales presentation, development, re-selling or other exploitation of any product, service, intellectual property or other rights of the Company and/or Group Company which has taken place in the period of twelve months preceding the termination of the Employee’s employment;
any proposed advertising, marketing or promotional campaign which the Company and/or any Group Company is to conduct;
any information relating to expansion plans, business strategy, marketing plans, and sales forecasts of the Company and/or Group Company including information relating to presentations, tenders, projects, joint ventures or acquisitions and developments contemplated, offered or undertaken by the Company and/or Group Company;
any financial or pricing information, including sales and tariff modelling data programs and the results and forecasts of the Company and/or and Group Company;
details of any of the employees and directors of the Company and/or any Group Company and of the remuneration and other benefits paid to them;
any information that you have been told is confidential and any information relating to presentations, tenders, projects, joint ventures or acquisitions and developments contemplated, offered or undertaken by the Company and/or any Group Company;
any financial or pricing information, including sales and tariff modelling data programs and results and forecast of the Company and/or Group Company;
any information that you have been told is confidential and any information that has been given to the Company and/or Group Company in confidence by Customers, agents, suppliers or other persons.
No Confidential Information should be removed from the Company’s or any Group Company’s premises or copied without the consent of a Director.
The obligations contained in this clause shall cease to apply to the Confidential Information upon its coming into the public domain, other than as a result or in connection with the direct or indirect disclosure by the Employee in breach of this clause.
Nothing in this contract shall preclude the Employee from making a protected disclosure in accordance with and subject to the provisions set out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA98).
Restrictive Covenants and Garden Leave
In order to protect the Confidential Information, trade secrets and business connections of the Company and any Group Company to which the Employee has access to as a result of their employment, the Employee’s covenant with the Company and any Group Company to which they have had access during their employment that they shall not from the date of the termination of their employment either on their own account (whether directly or indirectly), as a representative, agent, employee, director, partner, consultant, proprietor or shareholder of any other person, company, firm or organisation:
or a period of 3 years to be engaged in any venture, business, firm or company which competes with the Company or any Group Company or is in direct competition with the Company or any Group Company in the provision of least cost routing of telephone calls or sale of landline or internet based telephone systems or hosted phones;
for a period of 3 years be engaged in any venture, business, firm or company which requires or might reasonably be thought by the Company or any Group Company to require you to disclose or make use of any Confidential Information in order to properly discharge your duties or to further your interest in that person;
for a period of 3 years have any dealings in the sale or supply of any relevant goods or services from any Customer or Prospective Customer;
for a period of 3 years solicit votes or orders from any Customer or Prospective Customer or induce or attempt to induce any Customer, Prospective Customer or supplier to cease
conducting any business with the Company or any Group Company or to reduce the amount of business conducted with the business, or adversely vary the terms upon which any business is conducted with the Company or any Group Company;
for a period of 3 years directly or indirectly in connection with a business the same as or materially similar to that carried on by the Company or any Group Company when your employment terminates:
solicit, induce or entice away from the Company or any Group Company or any restricted person;
employ, engage or cause, procure or encourage the employment or engagement in any capacity by the Employee or by any person, firm, company or organisation of any restricted person;
at any time after the termination of the Employees employment for whatever reason, present themselves or allow themselves to be held out or presented as being at that time in any way connected with or interested in the business of the Company or any Group Company.
The Employee agrees that each of the restrictions set out in this section constitute an entirely separate, severable and independant restriction on them.
While the restrictions in this clause are considered by the parties to be reasonable in all the circumstances for the protection of the legitimate interest of the Company and any Group Company, if they are considered to go beyond what is reasonable to protect the legitimate interest of the Company and/or any Group Company, but would be considered reasonable if any particular restriction were deleted, the clause shall apply with such deletions, restrictions or limitations as the case may be.
The Employee shall not induce, procure, authorise or encourage any other person, firm, corporation or organisation to do or procure to be done anything which, if done by the Employee, would be a breach of this contract.
Garden Leave
Following service of notice to terminate the employment by either party, the Company may require the Employee not to perform any services (or to perform only specified services) for the Company or any Group Company until the termination of the employment or a specified date (“Garden Leave”). Any period of Garden Leave shall not normally exceed three months.
During any period of Garden Leave, the Company and any Group Company shall be under no obligation to provide any work to the Employee, who shall have no right to perform any services for the Company or/any Group Company. During any period of Garden Leave the Employee shall:
continue to receive the salary and all contractual benefits in the usual way and subject to the terms of any benefit arrangement made between the Employee and Employer;
remain an employee of the Company and be bound by terms of this Contract;
not, without the prior consent of a director, attend the Company’s place of work or any other premises of the Company or any Group Company and, not without prior consent of a director, contact or deal with (or attempt to contract or deal with) any officer, employee, consultant, client, customer, supplier, agent, distributor, shareholder, advisor or other business contact of the Company and/or Group Company;
(except during any periods taken as a holiday in the usual way) ensure that your direct line manager knows where they will be and how they can be contacted during each working day.